Then, Charlie noticed that Cherie was asleep right behind her. As soon as she noticed that, she realized that the roof was being pelted by heavy rain as a crack of thunder followed by its resounding rumble afterwards. The weather made Cherie's presence in Charlie's bed understandable to Charlie. Cherie didn't have any problems with thunder and other severe weather, nor did she have any problems with the dark. However, if you put the two together, then Cherie couldn't handle it.
Which is why Cherie never had any sleepovers when there was supposed to be thunderstorms or such, given she was extremely embarrassed by it. She used to get in bed with their parents, but they put a stop to it when Cherie had turned four. So, Charlie allowed Cherie to sleep with her when such storms occurred, and Charlie never made things difficult for Cherie about it, nor did she ever talk about it, even to Cherie.
Charlie heard Cherie moan softly, calling out Charlie's name, which made Charlie sit bolt upright in her bed. Charlie looked at Cherie and as her focus centered on her sister, she began seeing images from the dream she'd woken up from, but with the scene farther along than it had been when Charlie woke up.
Charlie felt her face redden as she realized that she'd somehow been able to view her younger sister's dream. Of all the times to do that, why did it have to be with that dream of all dreams, Charlie asked herself.
Charlie slowly lay back down on her bed, pulling the covers over herself and her sister again, wondering if this might be a part of the things that Charlie would have going on with her magic, without her conscious direction of it.
Charlie tried again to use her magic to talk to the crystal and as soon as she tried, she could feel that she'd succeeded for the first time.
–Can I ask you something?– Charlie asked.
–Nicely done, for your first success, that's a prefect try.– the crystal replied.
–Thanks, but I have a question.– Charlie said.
–Okay, ask and I'll answer.– the crystal replied.
–I somehow was inside my sister's dream and could see it through her eyes. Was that my magic letting me do that?– Charlie asked, feeling her breathing quicken.
–That's a rare talent. Very few can hear the thoughts of another creature, let alone see their dreams. While the mind is unguarded while a creature sleeps, the thoughts are too disorganized for most to get anything meaningful from, so the fact that you were is impressive.– the crystal replied.
–That's nice and all, but how do I get it to stop?– Charlie asked, not sure she really cared to ever use that ability again, nor after seeing what she had of that dream.
–I can't help you. This is something you're going to have to deal with on your own. It's not something that anyone can help you with. Like how your magic is different, what works for one creature isn't guaranteed to work for another. You're going to have to figure it out on your own.– the crystal answered, then after a moment added more. –Are you pulling on your magic while we talk?–
Charlie thought about that for a moment before realizing that she was in fact continually pulling on her magic. –I guess.– Charlie said, not sure exactly what to do about it.
–That's dangerous. If you let go of your power now, the power that you haven't used can take effect and it will be a random effect. Some creatures have had their entire being consumed by flames by doing what you're doing now. While it could be as simple as creating flower petals, it could still be so many that your room gets destroyed by the petals.– the crystal told Charlie.
–What should I do about it, then?– Charlie wasn't sure she liked either of the images that the crystal mentioned.
–Use it. Even if it's something that only lasts a moment, it'll use up the excess.– the crystal said. Then after a moment, almost as an afterthought. –Keep in mind, that creating physical objects will require more magic than your flame flower did.–
Charlie didn't reply, just thought of what she'd like to try with it. She didn't want to try anything on her sister, to get rid of that dream as she didn't know if she might hurt her sister, nor did she care to do anything elaborate. So, she merely used the power to create a scent in the air. A smell that always relaxed Charlie: Roses. Cherie didn't appreciate them as much as Charlie, but Cherie never objected to the smell. As she did that, Charlie smiled to herself.
–Thank you.– Charlie thought at the crystal before closing her eyes.
The crystal didn't respond, but as Charlie felt herself start to fall asleep, she found herself beginning to see the dream Cherie was having again, which completely woke Charlie up again. Charlie didn't say anything, but knew she likely wasn't going to get any more sleep as a result of that.
Charlie sighed and was about to get up when she felt her sister begin to snuggle up against her. Charlie glanced at Cherie and was confident it was just her sister being herself rather than acting on anything Charlie knew was going on in that dream.
The rain and thunder continued off an on all the time that Charlie lay awake, afraid of going to sleep, not wanting to see any more of that dream if she could help it. It wasn't until Charlie's alarm went off at six in the morning that she got up. Charlie could tell that Cherie was a lot more alert than Charlie was through her magic, but when Charlie thought she heard Cherie speak, Cherie didn't move her mouth, which she realized that she was hearing her sister's thoughts, just like she was able to see her dream. It was also clear that Cherie was just as disturbed by that dream as Charlie was, if not more so. Especially given that Cherie wasn't moving from Charlie's bed but rather staying in the same place she had been when she woke up with Charlie's alarm clock.
Charlie tried to act as unaware of her sister's thoughts as she had always been, but it would take some getting used to, especially since Charlie kept glancing towards Cherie whenever she picked up on a thought. The only consolation for Charlie was that Cherie hadn't noticed Charlie glancing at her.
Charlie was pulling out her clothing for the day at school when she heard another thought from Cherie that caused her to drop her shirt and jeans on the floor.
Would Charlie really be interested in that? No, don't think about that, it's still wrong, even if she would be open to it.
Charlie could feel the nausea that Cherie had and whenever she thought about Charlie in context with the dream, the feeling of nausea grew. Even if Charlie couldn't feel the nausea of her sister, she would be able to see that her sister felt sick.
"Are you feeling okay, Cherie?" Charlie asked, wondering if she should push her sister into taking a sick day.
Cherie didn't look like she really wanted to focus on Charlie, but she looked at Charlie and replied, "I think I'll be fine. I just had a bad dream." A really, really bad dream, under stater, Charlie heard Cherie think at herself.
"I'll let mom know," Charlie said, tossing her clothes on her bed and left the room.
Cherie looked like she wanted to tell Charlie not to, but she didn't. So, Charlie walked over to their parents' room and almost ran into their father when he rushed out of his room.
"Charlie? What's wrong?" he asked, when he saw her. Charlie didn't wonder why he thought something might be wrong, as Charlie had very rarely left her room in the morning on a school day without having gotten dressed first.
"Is mom here?" Charlie asked. "Cherie doesn't look like she's feeling very good."
Her father didn't ask how Charlie knew, as Cherie's issues with severe weather at night was well known to their parents, as well as Cherie sleeping in Charlie's bed whenever it occurred.
"Honey?" Charlie's father asked, turning into their room. "Cherie might not be feeling well."
Charlie waited until her mother came out of her room, fully dressed but without her makeup on. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked Charlie.
Charlie repeated what she'd told her father, not sure what else to say. Though, when her mother walked past Charlie, she merely followed after.
When they got back to Charlie's room, Cherie was still in there, but was now sitting on Charlie's bed, her head in her hands. Charlie's mother quickly went over to Cherie to talk softly with her while checking her to see what symptoms she was exhibiting. Charlie merely went and picked up her clothing, then turned to leave her room.
"I'm going to change in the bathroom," she commented, not really expecting a response, given neither Cherie nor her mother seemed to take any notice of Charlie at the moment.
After Charlie had changed, she felt a lot better. Somehow changing out of her nightgown let her put the events of the night before out of her mind.
As Charlie returned to her room to put her nightgown away, she saw her mother carrying Cherie towards her room, and Charlie couldn't help but notice how much more nauseous Cherie looked, let alone the feelings that Charlie could feel from her.
Charlie thought that might be the end of the situation, as far as her involvement would be, but while she was having a bowl of cereal, her mother spoke to her. "Cherie's going to spend the day here. She's not feeling very well and I suspect she didn't sleep very well," her mother said. "But, would you like to stay home too,? You look rather tired yourself."
Charlie smiled at her mother. "I'll be fine, mom. I just woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I'm sure I'll be good, it is Friday, after all," she said, not sure if her mother would require her to stay, but the thought of being alone in the house with Cherie right now unsettled Charlie. While she didn't have Cherie's dream so much on her mind, she still didn't want to be around a situation where that dream would be prominent in her mind. Especially when it likely would be on her sister's mind as well, given how Charlie could hear her sister's thoughts. "I don't think whatever Cherie has is contagious," Charlie added after a few more bites of her cereal.
Charlie tried to act indifferent, but she could feel her mother's eyes on her, looking at her, seeming to look for anything that would have her decide to make Charlie stay home as well. In the end, however, it seemed like her mother decided not to press the matter. She merely finished her breakfast and started to go back to the kitchen.
"Remember, Charlie, if you go to school, I better not get a call from the school today. Unless it's something positive about you, you will not like what happens if I do get a call," she warned Charlie as she started cleaning the counters.
Charlie didn't reply. She really would like an extra day off from school, but the price of dealing with more of Cherie's dream wouldn't be very good for Charlie. Then there's also the part that Charlie didn't want to be in a position where Cherie might decide to see if that dream could be reality, regardless of how nauseous she felt about it at the moment. While Charlie found herself attracted to girls more than boys, she certainly didn't want to end up in that kind of relationship with her own sister.
As Charlie got her backpack from her room, she quickly ran a check around her room so she wouldn't forget anything. She was about to leave when she spotted the crystal and quickly put it in her backpack. Then, as she turned towards her door, she saw her sister in her doorway.
"I'm sorry, Charlie," she said quietly, her face clearly miserable.
Charlie stopped, not sure what to make of Cherie's statement. "For what?"
Cherie merely shook her head. "Just… sorry," she replied, then turned away and went into her room.
Charlie didn't pay it much mind, not sure what exactly she could do. And while she had an idea of what Cherie was apologizing for, she didn't want to try to read Cherie's thoughts to be sure. Not only could she tell that Cherie was embarrassed with her dream, but Charlie was confident that if Cherie knew that Charlie knew about the dream, she would be utterly humiliated. So, she merely started to head out to go to school, only following Cherie as far as her room, not letting that occupy more of her mind than she had to.
Charlie hoped that would be the most eventful part of her day.
However, after arriving at school, Charlie opened her locker at school that day, just before her homeroom class, she saw something that she hadn't put there. She picked it up, and examined it. It was a small package with a note attached.
The note read: If you're open to a relationship, would you please wear this so I could see?
Charlie wanted to open the package right away, but she knew she'd need to get to her first class, so she left the package, planning on getting to it at the end of the day. Not sure who could have left it there, or what she should do when she finds out what it is.
Then when the day was over, Charlie pauses before opening her locker. She's surprised at how nervous she is about finding out what's in the package. She has trouble lifting her hand to put in the combination to open it and takes so long that she jumps when Beth suddenly speaks to her.
"Just open it already, girl," Beth says in a regular voice, but Charlie hadn't realized she had been there and so is caught completely off guard. Charlie isn't sure how high she jumped, but Beth starts laughing. Hard.
"You should have seen your face, Charlie," she tells Charlie in between laughs.
Charlie can feel her face heat up in embarrassment. "I didn't notice you come up," She replies quietly, not sure what else to say about it.
"What's got your mind so preoccupied that you didn't see me coming up?" Beth looks behind her then back at Charlie. "I mean, you didn't have your locker open yet and you have a clear view of where I came from."
"I found a package in my locker earlier," Charlie said, her voice not getting any louder. "It had a note and I'm not sure what to do about it."
"Can I see the note?" Beth asked.
Charlie hesitated only a moment before pulling the note out of her backpack and handed it to Beth. Beth read it before giving it back to Charlie. "Open the locker," Beth instructed.
Charlie hesitated and Beth repeated her instruction. "Open it." Then when Charlie hesitated more, she added, "You won't be able to do anything if you don't see what's in the package. Maybe it'll be something that you'll be able to ignore. Maybe it'll be something that will catch your interest. The only way will be to see what it is and to do that, you will need to open your locker."
Charlie sighed, she couldn't refute the logic Beth presented to her, so she quickly put in her combination and opened the locker. The package remained where it had been, mostly, only having been moved as Charlie had exchanged the books she had needed for each of her classes, in addition to having taken the note from the small package.
Charlie put away the books she didn't need for her homework for the weekend, then just stared at the package. It was wrapped in plain white paper, with nothing else that was remarkable about it, other than 'To: Charlie' written on it.
Charlie wasn't sure how long she'd stared at the package, but what broke the stare wasn't Beth, but rather a teacher.
Mrs. Carlson, the social studies teacher, called out to Beth and Charlie. "Is there a problem girls?"
Beth turned to Mrs. Carlson. "No, ma'am. Charlie is just having trouble getting lost in thought today," Beth said, reaching in Charlie's locker, taking the package, then closing Charlie's locker.
Mrs. Carlson wasn't letting them go so easily. "What did you take from her locker, Ms. Howard?" Beth showed Mrs. Carlson the package. "Hand it over," she instructed.
Beth complied, glaring at Mrs. Carlson. "That's Charlie's," Beth said heatedly.
Mrs. Carlson didn't pay Beth any mind, instead opened the package, revealing a silver chain necklace with a indigo crystal butterfly. "Why did you have this in your locker, Ms. Rivers?"
Charlie found she couldn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to do about it, she wasn't sure she had wanted to know what was in the package. Beth again spoke, putting her arm around Charlie's shoulders protectively. Charlie realized that she was shaking. She just didn't know what to do about this situation. "She was given that. If you notice, the wrapping said 'To: Charlie.'"
Mrs. Carlson's eyes flashed at Beth. "I wasn't talking to you, Ms. Howard. If you both don't leave now, I'll give you both detention."
"We'll leave once you give Charlie her property back," Beth said.
"I can't be sure this wasn't stolen," Mrs. Carlson said.
"Then let's take this to the principal," Beth challenged, her eyes telling Mrs. Carlson that the gauntlet had been thrown down.
Mrs. Carlson sputtered, unable to form a coherent response right away. Finally, she handed the pendant back to Beth. "Don't bring that back to school, Ms. Rivers," she merely said before walking away.
Beth led Charlie away quickly, clearly wanting to get away from Mrs. Carlson before she changed her mind. Charlie merely allowed Beth to lead her, her mind focused more on the necklace, part of her wanting to not know what it was and to have it back in the package, part of her wondering who left it in her locker, and part of her wondering what it'd look like on her.
When they were outside the school, Beth stopped and turned to Charlie, "I'm sure you wanted to open that package when you were ready, but now that you know what it is, you get to decide if you will wear it or not. If you do, I'd suggest you do so after a few weeks. We don't want Mrs. Carlson to decide to take it again. Besides, if you wear it, it won't be against the dress code."
Charlie merely nodded. She couldn't think of anything to respond with. Beth waited a minute for Charlie to say something, but when she didn't, Beth pressed the necklace into Charlie's hand.
"There, now you have it, you get to decide what to do with it," Beth said, closing Charlie's hand over the pendant.
Charlie nodded, again, putting the necklace in her pocket. Her mind starting to stop feeling numb as she did so.
"So, ready to meet everyone in discussing what to do next to help Petals?" Beth asked, starting forward again.
Beth's statement seemed to jump start Charlie's brain as she then remembered what she'd wanted to talk with Beth about that day.
However, given how many other students were moving around at the moment, Charlie waited until they were a little bit away from the school before broaching the subject.
"Beth?" Charlie started. "Do you remember when we were in Petals' forest?"